Automobile door latch apparatus

A motor vehicle door latch device comprising:

• a body;
• an engagement unit that is housed in the body and comprises an engagement mechanism that can engage with a striker of the body and an opening lever that can release the engagement mechanism;
• and
• an operating unit that comprises an operating mechanism that operates the engagement mechanism via the opening lever and a housing fixed to the body to house the operating mechanism,
• the operating mechanism comprising:
• a locking motor;
• a locking rotary member rotated by the locking motor;
• a locking mechanism that comprises a mechanical element that can be shifted between an unlock state for validating a door opening action of an external mechanical operating element outside a vehicle and a lock state for invalidating the door opening action based on rotation of the locking rotary member;
• a releasing motor disposed below the locking motor;
• and
• an electric release lever pivotally mounted to the housing via a release shaft and rotated by the releasing motor to directly contact and release the opening lever, thereby enabling the engagement mechanism to be released whether the locking mechanism is in the unlock state or the lock state,
• wherein the locking motor and the releasing motor are controlled by an electronic control unit of a motor vehicle,
• wherein the electronic control unit electrically controls an electric detecting element that is disposed on or close to the external mechanical operating element to detect that a user touches or approaches the electric detecting element,
• wherein only when the electronic control unit identifies an ID signal through a wireless communication between an electronic key exclusively used by a regular user and a receiver of the motor vehicle and authenticates that the regular user approaches the motor vehicle, the electronic control unit makes the electric detecting element usable,
• wherein when the electronic control unit makes the electric detecting element usable by the authentication and the regular user touches or approaches the electric detecting element, the electronic control unit controls driving of the releasing motor to rotate the electric release lever which directly contacts and releases the opening lever so that a door can be opened regardless of whether the locking mechanism is retained in the unlock state or the lock state,
• wherein in the case that the locking mechanism is in the lock state, after the electronic control unit stops the driving of the releasing motor for enabling the door to open, the electronic control unit controls the locking motor to be shifted to an unlock state in preparation for operating activity of the door after the regular user who gets in the motor vehicle closes the door, and
• wherein, if an entering line along which the striker enters a striker entering groove of the body to engage with the engagement mechanism is defined as a striker entering line X, a first case for the locking motor is located above the striker entering line X, and a second case for the releasing motor is located below the striker entering line X.